Recent content by jnrankin

I'm making an American Amber next weekend and I'm looking for some input on the grain bill. I love the malty, toasty flavors of German Munich malt but was wondering if it would be out of place (or overshadowed) if used in conjunction with American hops and caramel malts. Anyone else have...

Do you do a thorough job of filtering the dry hop particles before bottling? I had the same problem until I started using a fine mesh bag to contain my dry hops. I believe the leftover particles provide nucleation sites for CO2 if they make it into the bottle (sort of like dropping mentos into...

Thanks, any tips on fully attenuating wlp002? I'm already a little worried that 1.5 lbs of caramel malt will leave this too sweet. Might have to cut back on that instead.

Hey guys, I'll be brewing a PM porter next weekend and I'm looking for a little advice on your favorite yeast for the style. I used wlp002 last time but had a tough time with attenuation and had some weird flavors develope after a few weeks in the bottle. Here's the recipe I'm planning on...

Could be your yeast. I know some folks have complained that certain British strains (especially wlp002/wyeast 1968 aka Fuller's) respond poorly to the pressurized fermentation during bottling. I personally used wlp002 for a bottled porter once and the beer was great at 2 weeks but started to...

Ah, I see. I think I'll go ahead and do it. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't going completely overboard with the stuff.

Thanks for the advice. I've actually never used Victory before so I'm not sure how it will turn out. Do you think 1lb is too nutty/biscuity for an NEB? Briess says up to 15% is good for browns. Maybe I should just call this a nut brown ale.

Brewing a partial mash Northern English Brown this weekend... 4lb Munton's Marris Otter malt 1lb Victory malt 1b Caramel 80L 0.25lb Munton's chocolate malt 3.3lb Briess Golden Light LME 60min 1oz Fuggles (4.8 AA) 10min 0.5oz Fuggles (4.8 AA) 0min 0.5oz Fuggles (4.8 AA) Ringwood...

For the record, I used 3724 without a starter and it never stuck. Took a little longer than most of my beers but it dropped to 1.005 after 4 weeks. I did keep it at around 90F, however, so it may just really need to be hot.

My first beer was a vanilla bourbon porter (loosely based on Denny's recipe, great stuff btw) and the vanilla was waaay too strong at first. But after another month or so in the bottle the vanilla had faded significantly. Let your beer sit for a few weeks and give it another taste. Good luck.

It really depends on the yeast and fermentation conditions. I've gotten a subtle green apple character in each kolsch I've made but certainly nothing "cidery". For the record, I ferment with Wyeast 2565 at around 60F.

Quick update: this one ended up as one of my best beers so far. The last minute changes to my hop schedule actually turned out really well, though I'd like to try a few other combinations if I ever make this again. I was impressed with the yeast as well. Wlp051 seems to get mixed reviews but I...

I think you should choose between the chocolate and the roasted barley. If you truly want to keep this a "pale" ale then one of those would be a good candidate to get rid of. I'd personally get rid of the roasted barley and keep a bit of chocolate for a darker counterpoint to the citrusy hops...

On a related note, what is the best way to rig a blow off tube for a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket? Like zebtax said, that little hole is too small for any tubing I've come across.

That was my experience with WL California V as well. Took forever to get started but was pretty vigorous once it got going. I haven't tasted the finished product yet but the hydro sample was great while bottling.